how many guns did you take to Africa???

kayaker1 said:
1) Only heards that are not in certain areas and thats an artifact from cattle ranches. In most of the lowveld the buff are long-standing populations and certainly not quasi-domestic! However it is true that areas with substantional HUNTABLE populations of buff are quite limited (the classic lowveld areas).

2) I think NORMALLY a 600yrd shot is not acceptable but I feel in this case with a client who clearly shoots at those ranges and has the appropriate gear, its a different story, still more like 'sniping' BUT each to his own and clearly he can pull it off competantly. The ethics of this become very blurred, not well defined.

Allow me to relate a similar story form an old PH and ex-boss of mine (Ian Goss). He had a similar client who was a very good long range shooter and was using some super-duper ultra magnum tactical type rig. They too spotted an Eland at 500+ yards and the client said he could take it from there. Ian said NO WAY; waaaayyy to far. The client then asked Ian if he was using a .30-06 and that was a Kudu at 250yrds would he let him shoot..Ian said yes and then realized the guy had essentially asked to extrapolate the proportionate distances, animal sizes and trajectories....needless to say he then aggreed, somewhat relactantly, and the eland was dropped.

I would say that 600yrds is totally out of the question 99% of the time...but I would first learn about the shooter and context before jumping down his throat. VERY few guys have the right gear and more importantly the right skills, but some guys really do. Not my cup of tea but whenever I see the long range guys at work (only a couple of times) its very impressive. We can argue ad nauseum about hunting vs. sniping but in this case the guy appears to be competant in this regard.

3) I have never shot a buff but also know a few guys who have and don't know anyone who used a solid as a first shot for the last 20years. Premium soft first, solids underneath.

Kudu - kalmeer boet, ons almal hou van skiet en jag and party van hierdie ouens is regatig baie ervare, afstaande van waar hulle jag. Cheers.

4) The OP - take both, either will work but a spare is nice to have. If your outfitter does have a loaner rifle that is decent and guarantees it will be available then take just one. However you wouldn't want to have it do down and then learn that the company rilfe is being used elsewhere....
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Kayaker, Thanks for the reply.

I hear what you say - however, I get a little perturbed when an esteemed gentleman stands up on a public forum and laments the greatness of 600 yard shots - not to mention "can shoot flying fowl with a rifle?? - "You should try this, it takes some skill to head shoot em on the wing AND it is real good fun."

I guess that is why helmeted Guineafowl are exactly that ;) - even my twelve year old son knows that once the bullet has struck "the fowl" it will continue on a trajectory - is this not criminally reckless? - what does it need - a hole in the head to understand that the bullet has to come down somewhere, and you the shooter, have absolutely no control on what or who will be underneath it!

Ja maar toe maar, ek skud my kop en wonder .......

BTW when using commercial heads I only load with GS Custom Bullets.

I'm a student of super cavitation. From field tests we have concluded that a solid creates a bubble of water vapor in front of it, and the bigger the bubble the deeper the penetration.

Monolithic heads turned on our lathes in our own facility (all tests have been caried out by Somchem at their labs) are the stock feed for our rifles, when hunting and backing up - they work really well on raked shots on buff.


This will most likely be my last post on here, as the forum bosses have given me a ban already - I guess this will blow the bottom out of it . cheers for now.
 
Kudu said:
This will most likely be my last post on here, as the forum bosses have given me a ban already - I guess this will blow the bottom out of it . cheers for now.
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It was not a ban, it was an infraction. Big difference. If you were banned you would not be posting here.
 
Years ago I used to shoot birds while they were flying with a Ruger M77 30-06 it became nothing to do it and was actually a lot of fun to do.

Where did the bullets go after hitting the bird is an easy answer right into the hill behind them... :D
 
Camp Cook said:
Years ago I used to shoot birds while they were flying with a Ruger M77 30-06 it became nothing to do it and was actually a lot of fun to do.

Where did the bullets go after hitting the bird is an easy answer right into the hill behind them... :D
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X2:D
Just because we can do this does NOT mean we shoot in a reckless manner.
I really chokes me how fast some are to get all unwound about someone elses kill and style, they run off at the keyboard without having clue 1 about the circumstances and surroundings but quickly assume that those doing things like shooting birds on the wing with a rifle are morons and just shoot without thinking about where the bullet will go.

Kayaker I will grant you my style of "hunting" IS much more akin to "sniping".


I find it kind of weird that 35 years ago us "snipers" were shunned members of the unit, but today everyone wants to be a sniper. Funny how things change with time.

OP My apologies for turning you thread into a debacle.
In answer to your original question. I took 2 plus a spare scope. When I go on any hunt more than an hour from home I take 2 rifles simply because I do not believe that 1 rifle can do everything, and especially along way from home , what if something fails. Hunting in foreign countries is NOT cheap and to end up ruining a hunt because of a rifle failing would suck.
 
Kudu is displaying typical behavior of Oldfartus expertatus.

I.E. "I've been doing this since God was an infant and THIS is the ONLY way it can be done. Anyone who says otherwise is an ignorant, unethical #####. I have so decreed."

In other words, he's just like most hunters -- he has a fanatical belief that his way is the only way. Oh well. He'll get over it.



Or he won't. Whatever.
 
I belive the disadvantage of a forum is that we can only provide limited info that gets taken out of context...I bet if you two dudes met over a beer you would disagree but at least be able to substantiate your positions more thoroughly without a bun fight!

True, ADVOCATING 600yrd shots is irresponsible IMO (despite that a very small minority can do it).

Shooting birds on the wing in the head with a rifle? I would like to see than done consistently:D (hell, I battle with a shotgun!!!:redface:)

Kudu, I would love to try GS Customs at some point for sure.

Cheers all...
 
I don't remember Rick advocating the 600 yard shot. He said that he made it, but that's it. He didn't say that his way was the only way to shoot Eland.
 
Unlike Rick/Alberta Tactical my firearms/equipment do not qualify me for those kinds of shots.

The max I'd shoot at game right now is 500 yards and I only have one rifle/load that I would trust or feel confident enough with to shoot that far and conditions would have to be absolutely perfect or I wouldn't take the shot.
 
Camp Cook said:
Unlike Rick/Alberta Tactical my firearms/equipment do not qualify me for those kinds of shots.

The max I'd shoot at game right now is 500 yards and I only have one rifle/load that I would trust or feel confident enough with to shoot that far and conditions would have to be absolutely perfect or I wouldn't take the shot.
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Conditions have to be perfect at long range regardless of what kit you have.
The best most accurate rifle in the world with the best shooter in the world is still courting disaster with a strong but swirling or gusting wind that can not be doped accurately. Mirage can also screw a good shot up.
So if the conditions are anything but perfect we just keep looking.
 
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